Mike Thompson: “There have been many great women and men who served in this Congress, walked these Halls, and cast votes on this floor…”

“There have been many great women and men who served in this Congress, walked these Halls, and cast votes on this floor, but today, we are here to reflect on the life and service of one of those great Members, Bill Pascrell. I had the honor of serving with Bill on the Ways and Means Committee for the 15 years that he served on the committee, and he served recently as the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Trade. He always served with incredible passion. In every debate, markup, hearing, and vote, Bill never backed down from doing what he knew was right and what he knew was fair. In his nearly three decades in Congress, law enforcement and firefighters didn't have a better friend. His constituents couldn't have asked for a better fighter working every day for them. For Bill, there was no adversary too powerful to challenge. There was no wrong too small to right. When he took on an issue, he left it all on the field. He brought 110 percent to the arena. Bill was a great husband, father, Army veteran, and schoolteacher. He loved baseball, and he absolutely loved his Italian heritage. Of course, Bill was a lifelong Patersonian. I have a Navy shipyard in my old district, and we had a Navy ship come in for repairs, and I stopped by to visit with the troops. The captain of that ship was impressed. He said, you are the second Member of Congress that I have met. The first one was my hometown Congressman, and what a great guy. I said, where are you from?…”